Iowa Old Press
Ottumwa Daily Courier
Ottumwa, Wapello co., Iowa
September 24, 1937
Ida Mae Home To Claim Her Treasure Find
Marshalltown.—(AP)—Sixteen-year-old Ida Mae
Zornes was back home today to claim the $1,314 in buried treasure
which she found four years ago, but which did not become hers
until the Iowa Supreme Court ruled this week that her claim was
legitimate. She arrived here from Kansas City, Mo., yesterday
having read of the supreme court’s decision. Previously her
mother did not know where Ida Mae was since her disappearance
recently.
Ida Mae says she is anxious to settle down in a home of her own.
“I’m in love,” she confided to reporters in Des
Moines yesterday when she changed busses.
“I’m not saying who the boyfriend is,” she
continued, “but my money is going to help us get
started.” She said she wanted to become “just a
housewife.”
“I read about the supreme court’s decision in Kansas
City,” Ida Mae explained. “I won’t say why I ran
away, but I was with friends — good friends, too. I left
home about two weeks ago and hitch-hiked to Kansas City.”
Ida Mae found the $1,314 in a hole under the floor of her home.
It was in a rusty old kettle, buried in the dirt.
The Court’s decision, however, may interfere with her
marital plans. The decision stipulates that she must have a
guardian to advise her in her financial affairs.
[transcribed by L.Z., March 2018]